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Aoife Hanna

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle rebuked in blunt response from lawyers of photo agency behind 'chase' as jaw-dropping letter shows they're not backing down

Doria Ragland, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex attend the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards: Celebrating Generations of Progress & Power at Ziegfeld Ballroom on May 16, 2023 in New York City.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle rebuked in a pretty blunt response from lawyers of the photo agency that was behind the car chase that they say was 'near catastrophic.'


(Image credit: Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty Images)

Reports of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'near catastrophic' car chase were of grave concern to fans of the couple, after their spokesperson made a statement regarding what happened. The incident happened in New York as they left the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Awards.

The statement claims that the couple, and Meghan's mom Doria Ragland, were involved in a, "near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi."

They added that the 'relentless pursuit' lasted over two hours and left them, understandably, shaken. 

TMZ reports that the Sussexes legal team sent a letter to Backgrid, the photo agency behind the 'chase', claiming that they need it to reassess their security requirements.

(Image credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)

The letter allegedly reads, "we hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours."

Backgrid's response reads, "In America, as I'm sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do." 

"Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago. We stand by our founding fathers."

The agency say that they had four photographers, three in cars and one on a bike. They maintain that they, "had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras."

(Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen )

In the days since this concerning incident, understandably, questions have been raised as to how it even happened - considering the couple's usually robust security detail. 

One royal expert, Victoria Arbiter, tweeted her criticism of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's security team.

"If Harry and Meghan’s security detail made the decision for them to switch from an SUV to a taxi they need to be fired,” he said. “A NYC taxi driver would have no experience dealing with flashbulbs or driving defensively. This is why you hire pros.”

Since the incident, it's no surprise that comparisons were drawn with Princess Diana's fatal car crash in 1997.

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